Fwd: Science X Newsletter Monday, Jan 19

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From: Newsletter Phys.org <not-for-reply@physorg.com>
Date: Tue, Jan 20, 2015 at 2:39 AM
Subject: Science X Newsletter Monday, Jan 19
To: Pascal Alter <pascal.alter@gmail.com>

Dear Pascal Alter,

Here is your customized Phys.org Newsletter for January 19, 2015:

Spotlight Stories Headlines

- Predatory sea snails produce weaponized insulin
- Scientists tame Schrodinger's cat for a new type of quantum computer
- New laser could upgrade the images in tomorrow's technology
- Self-destructive effects of magnetically-doped ferromagnetic topological insulators
- Study shows how planetary building blocks evolved from porous to hard objects
- Brain recalls old memories via new pathways
- Automated method beats critics in picking great movies
- Best of Last Week – Extending Einstein's spooky action, accelerated sea level rise and city personality mismatches
- Fossil ankles indicate Earth's earliest primates lived in trees
- Battery recipe: Deep-fried graphene pom-poms
- New high-speed 3-D microscope gives deeper view of living things
- Scientists: Tumor-causing virus widespread in wild turkeys
- Transgenic crops: Multiple toxins not a panacea for pest control
- Researchers discover 'idiosyncratic' brain patterns in autism
- Melting glaciers have big carbon impact, study shows

Astronomy & Space news

	Study shows how planetary building blocks evolved from porous to hard objects (Phys.org)—Thinking small has enabled an international team of scientists to gain new insight into the evolution of planetary building blocks in the early solar system.
	SpaceX releases video of rocket crash-landing on ocean barge SpaceX has released dramatic footage of its booster rocket trying to land on a floating ocean barge after a launch—an unprecedented attempt that ended in a fiery explosion.
	Snapshot of cosmic burst of radio waves A strange phenomenon has been observed by astronomers right as it was happening - a 'fast radio burst'. The eruption is described as an extremely short, sharp flash of radio waves from an unknown source in the universe. The results have been published in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.
	The cosmic seeds of black holes Supermassive black holes with millions or billions of solar-masses of material are found at the nuclei of most galaxies. During the embryonic stages of these galaxies they are thought to play an important role, acting as seeds around which material collected. During the later lifetime of galaxies they can power dramatic outflowing jets of material (among other phenomena) as infalling dust and gas accretes onto the disks that typically surround them. These active, later phases of supermassive black holes can result in turning galaxies into an extremely bright objects like quasars, whose luminosities allow them to be seen at cosmic distances. In fact, quasars have recently been detected from eras less than a billion years after the big bang.
	High-speed jets from a possible new class of galaxy Seyfert galaxies are similar to spiral galaxies except that they have extraordinarily prominent, bright nuclei, sometimes as luminous as 100 billion Suns. Their huge energies are thought to be generated as matter falls towards a central supermassive black hole and accretes onto a circumnuclear disk around it. Observations distinguish between two types of Seyferts: those whose nuclear emission appears to be slightly obscured, thought to be the result of viewing the galaxy edge-on through an obscuring disk, and those seen face-on.
	We've found Beagle2—now where did Philae go? Landing a spacecraft on a celestial body, whether it be the moon, Mars or a comet, is not easy. The European Space Agency found out the hard way in 2003 when its robot Beagle2, which was supposed to send back a signal after landing on Mars, didn't do so.
	The effect of starlight on the atmospheres of mini-Neptunes Exoplanet surveys have discovered the first planets with sizes between 2 and 3.5 Earth radii—slightly smaller than the size of the planet Neptune in our solar system. These planets, dubbed "mini-Neptunes," have been spotted so far around five low mass stars, but since low mass stars are the most common stars in the universe, and since mini-Neptunes are also expected to be abundant around them, astronomers anticipate finding many more mini-Neptunes in the near future.
	After Kepler, what is next for the planet hunters? At the winter meeting of the American Astronomical Society earlier this month, the NASA Kepler Space Telescope team announced its 1,000th discovery of a planet outside our solar system. This brings the total number of confirmed exoplanets to 1,795, with a staggering additional 4,000 possibilities also located by Kepler. Twenty years ago we had no proof our planetary system was not unique in the universe. Kepler taught us we are one of thousands.
	Square Kilometre Array: Astronomers prepare to map the Universe with largest radio telescope ever built An international team of scientists including Hans-Rainer Klöckner from the Max Planck Institute for Radio Astronomy in Bonn and Dominik Schwarz from the University of Bielefeld have joined forces to lay the foundations for an experiment of truly astronomical proportions: putting together the biggest map of the Universe ever made. The experiment will combine signals from hundreds of radio dishes to make cosmic atlas. In a series of papers published today on the arXiv.org astrophysics pre-print website, an international team of researchers set out their plans for the mammoth survey.
	Dawn delivers new image of Ceres (Phys.org)—As NASA's Dawn spacecraft closes in on Ceres, new images show the dwarf planet at 27 pixels across, about three times better than the calibration images taken in early December. These are the first in a series of images that will be taken for navigation purposes during the approach to Ceres.
	NASA's New Horizons spacecraft closing in on Pluto The mysterious, distant and yet unexplored by any probe world of Pluto and its moons, located on the edge of our solar system, is about to get visited. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft on July 14 will perform the first ever close-up flyby of the fallen planet. Downgraded in 2006 to dwarf planet by the International Astronomical Union (IAU), Pluto holds key clues to our understanding of the formation of our solar system. New Horizons' Co-Investigator and Deputy Project Scientist Kimberly Ennico of NASA's Ames Research Center, shares the excitement about the historic encounter with Pluto. "This first ever arrival at Pluto will be a remarkable event!" Ennico told astrowatch.net. "It's been 25 years since we last had an 'interplanetary first encounter': the last was Voyager-2's August 1989 fly-by of Neptune and Triton. With New Horizons' July 2015 fly-by, Pluto, Charon [Pluto's largest moon] and the smaller moons will become 'real world! s'. From Earth, they are 'distant points of light'. We get to visit them up close for the first time."
	Vega ready to launch spaceplane On its first launch of the year, Europe's Vega rocket will loft ESA's unmanned spaceplane to test reentry technologies for future vehicles.
	Image: NASA's NEOWISE captures Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) is one of more than 32 comets imaged by NASA's NEOWISE mission from December 2013 to December 2014. This image of comet Lovejoy combines a series of observations made in November 2013, when comet Lovejoy was 1.7 astronomical units from the sun. (An astronomical unit is the distance between Earth and the sun.)
	Comet Finlay surprise outburst visible in binoculars Lost sleep at night, fingers tapping on the keyboard by day. Darn comets are keeping me busy! But of course that's a good problem. Comet 15P/Finlay, which had been languishing in the western sky at dusk at magnitude +10, has suddenly come to life … for a second time.
Some of the best pictures of the planets in our solar system Our Solar System is a pretty picturesque place. Between the Sun, the Moon, and the Inner and Outer Solar System, there is no shortage of wondrous things to behold. But arguably, it is the eight planets that make up our Solar System that are the most interesting and photogenic. With their spherical discs, surface patterns and curious geological formations, Earth's neighbors have been a subject of immense fascination for astronomers and scientists for millennia.

Medicine & Health news

	Brain recalls old memories via new pathways People with anxiety disorders, such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), often experience prolonged and exaggerated fearfulness. Now, an animal study suggests that this might involve disruption of a gradual shifting of brain circuitry for retrieving fear memories. Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have discovered in rats that an old fear memory is recalled by a separate brain pathway from the one originally used to recall it when it was fresh.
	How does the brain adapt to the restoration of eyesight? Recent scientific advances have meant that eyesight can be partially restored to those who previously would have been blind for life. However, scientists at the University of Montreal and the University of Trento have discovered that the rewiring of the senses that occurs in the brains of the long-term blind means that visual restoration may never be complete.
	Researchers discover 'idiosyncratic' brain patterns in autism Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has been studied for many years, but there are still many more questions than answers. For example, some research into the brain functions of individuals with autism spectrum have found a lack of synchronization ('connectivity') between different parts of the brain that normally work in tandem. But other studies have found the exact opposite - over-synchronization in the brains of those with ASD.
	Common degenerative eye disease may be triggered by tiny mineral deposits New research from scientists at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UM SOM) has found that tiny lumps of calcium phosphate may be an important triggering factor for age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a degenerative eye disease that can cause severe vision loss and blindness. This is the first time these mineral deposits have been implicated in the disease, which affects more than 10 million Americans. The article appeared in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
	Bed nets and vaccines: Some combinations may worsen malaria Combining insecticide-treated bed nets with vaccines and other control measures may provide the best chance at eliminating malaria, which killed nearly 600,000 people worldwide in 2013, most of them African children.
	Know your enemy: Combating whooping cough requires informed vaccine booster schedules A key to victory in battle, according to Chinese general and military strategist Sun Tzu, is to know your enemy. In the current fight against whooping cough resurgence, perhaps the biggest obstacle is an incomplete understanding of its underlying causes, according to a University of Michigan population ecologist.
	Insights into a rare genetic disease Recently, a grassroots effort initiated by families and clinicians led to the discovery of a human genetic disorder with severe consequences that is linked to a mutation in the human NGLY1 gene. In a big step towards understanding the effects of this mutation, research by scientists at the RIKEN-Max Planck Joint Research Center in Japan implicates the enzyme ENGase as the factor responsible for deficient protein degradation that occurs in the absence of mouse Ngly1 gene expression. Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, the paper details how lack of the Ngly1 peptide results in the incomplete removal of the sugar portion of glycoproteins—a process called deglycosylation. The result is that proteins that should be broken down in the cytostol are instead aggregated in the cells.
New cellular pathway triggering allergic asthma response identified Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, with collaborators in Korea and Scotland, have identified a novel signaling pathway critical to the immune response of cells associated with the initiation of allergic asthma. The discovery, they say, could point the way to new therapies that suppress the inflammatory allergic response, offering potential relief to millions of Americans with the chronic lung condition and potentially other allergic diseases.
	Industrialisation, WWI helped fuel TB spread, study says A virulent group of tuberculosis germs spread from East Asia in waves propelled by industrialisation, World War I and Soviet collapse to yield some of the drug-resistant strains plaguing the world today, a study said Monday.
	Mystery kidney disease killing Sri Lankan farmers Karunawathie isn't hungry for breakfast. She rarely is these days, but she forces herself to choke down a few bites of rice, dried fish and a simple coconut mix. The doctors say it's better to have something in her stomach before the four-hour dialysis treatments.
Two die of bird flu in China Two people have died of the H7N9 strain of avian flu in China's eastern province of Fujian, state media said Saturday, quoting local health officials.
Study identifies geographic clusters of underimmunization in Northern California Researchers used spatial analysis software and electronic medical records to identify clusters of underimmunization and vaccine refusal among Kaiser Permanente members in Northern California, according to a study published today in the journal Pediatrics.
Gut microbes trigger autoimmune disease later in life in mice Researchers have revealed that the colonization of the gut of young mice by certain types of bacteria can lead to immune responses later in life that are linked to disease. Increases in the levels of segmented filamentous bacteria can trigger changes in the lymphoid tissue of the mouse gut that result in the production of antibodies that attack components of the cell nucleus. This type of damage is a hallmark of autoimmune diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus and systemic sclerosis where organs throughout the body are damaged by wayward immune responses. The findings are published in The EMBO Journal.
	'Lifestyle' diseases kill 16 mn prematurely: WHO Diseases linked to lifestyle choices, including diabetes and some cancers, kill 16 million people prematurely each year, the World Health Organization said Monday, urging action to stop the "slow-moving public health disaster".
	To beet or not to beet? Researchers test theories of beet juice benefits Athletes who down beet juice before exercising to increase blood flow and improve performance may be surprised at the results of a recent study conducted at Penn State's Noll Laboratory. While beetroot juice rich in nitrates did not enhance muscle blood flow or vascular dilation during exercise, researchers found that it did "de-stiffen" blood vessels under resting conditions, potentially easing the workload of the heart.
	How decision making and personality may be related to weight Monash University researchers are investigating how people's decision making ability and personality may be related to how much they weigh.
	Common risk factor for heart disease may be more prevalent among football players, study shows Researchers at the Emory University School of Medicine have found that after completing one full season of college football, players demonstrate relatively stiffer arteries compared to other non-athletic college students. Findings were published in the Jan. 15 edition of the American Journal of Cardiology.
	Secondhand smoke and cavities: Research indicates link between the two Exposure to secondhand smoke could make children more susceptible to cavities, although more research is needed before it can be considered a risk factor. One way to accomplish this would be to look for evidence of exposure to nicotine in the blood of young children, suggests a Tufts dentist.
Obama child and sick leave directive more inclusive for low-income families—including men President Barack Obama signed a memorandum Jan. 15 directing agencies to allow federal workers to take six weeks of paid sick leave to help with a new child or a sick relative.
	Uneven impact found for those with serious mental illness in transition from Medicaid to Medicare Part D When Medicare Prescription Drug Coverage started in 2006, many experts voiced concerns about disabled patients with serious mental illness making the transition from Medicaid to Medicare.
	Ex-offenders not using mental health services Ex-offenders in Western Australia may not be seeking out or receiving the mental health services they need, research suggests.
	Breast cancer research shapes prevention policy with leading US health body A ground-breaking resolution developed by University of Stirling academics on the elevated breast cancer risk faced by women in certain occupations has been adopted by the influential American Public Health Association (APHA), the largest public health organization in the world.
	Early parental program improves long-term childhood outcomes Children whose parents participated in a prenatal program aimed at enhancing couples' co-parenting relationship were better adjusted at age seven than children whose parents were assigned to a control group, according to Penn State researchers.
School cafeterias use technology to create healthy eating 'report card' Childhood obesity is a national issue and many communities have looked to their schools for help. While schools are required to follow new federal guidelines for healthier lunch options, whether students are actually eating the healthier food provided and making healthier behavior changes have yet to be determined.
	Early knee arthritis symptoms first felt when using stairs People who suffer from knee pain when using the stairs may be experiencing the early symptoms of osteoarthritis, according to a new University of Leeds study.
	Parents seek school readiness tests for children Do children have the self-help, social-emotional and cognitive skills to cope with the school year ahead?
	Terpenes inhibit liver cancer As main component of essential oils, terpenes can inhibit the growth of different cancer cells. Researchers from the Ruhr-University Bochum headed by Prof Dr Dr Dr Hanns Hatt have analysed this process in liver cancer cells in detail. They shed light upon the molecular mechanisms that resulted in cancer cells stop growing, following the application of (-)-citronellal, and they proved that the olfactory receptor OR1A2 is the crucial molecule for that purpose. In future, the olfactory receptor could serve as target for liver cancer diagnosis and therapy.
	Pizza takes a slice out of kids' health, study finds (HealthDay)—On the days your kids eat pizza, they likely take in more calories, fat and sodium than on other days, a new study found.
	Family income, expectations tied to kindergarten performance (HealthDay)—U.S. children entering kindergarten do worse on tests when they're from poorer families with lower expectations and less focus on reading, computer use and preschool attendance, new research suggests.
	Cold effects on skin in raynaud's impacted by age, BMI (HealthDay)—For patients with Raynaud's phenomenon (RP), cold-induced decrease in skin temperature is related to age and body mass index (BMI), according to a study published in the January issue of Arthritis & Rheumatology.
	Nutritional supplement reduces hair loss in females (HealthDay)—A nutritional supplement with specific omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and antioxidants can improve hair density and reduce the telogen percentage, according to a study published online Jan. 8 in the Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology.
	Vaccine opponents often cluster in communities (HealthDay)—Parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated appear to be clustered in certain areas, a new study suggests.
	Prostate cancer mortality benefit seen for family Hx-based screens (HealthDay)—Screening white men with a family history of prostate cancer appears to be associated with a decrease in prostate cancer-specific mortality, according to a study published in the January issue of The Journal of Urology.
	A new neural circuit controls fear in the brain Some people have no fear, like that 17-year-old kid who drives like a maniac. But for the nearly 40 million adults who suffer from anxiety disorders, an overabundance of fear rules their lives. Debilitating anxiety prevents them from participating in life's most mundane moments, from driving a car to riding in an elevator. Today, a team of researchers at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) describes a new pathway that controls fear memories and behavior in the mouse brain, offering mechanistic insight into how anxiety disorders may arise.
	Couples more likely to get healthy together People are more successful in taking up healthy habits if their partner makes positive changes too, according to research published in JAMA Internal Medicine today (Monday).
	Study suggests increase in falls among the elderly Over a 12-year period, the prevalence of self-reported falls among older adults appeared to be on the rise, according to a new nationally representative study.
Researchers identify rare shared genetic mutation for disease in Inuit A team of Canadian and Japanese researchers has identified the genetic mutation responsible for glycogen storage disease type IIIa in Inuit in northern Quebec, Canada, in a study published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal). The paper identifies a mutation in the gene encoding the glycogen debranching enzyme (AGL), which had previously been undetected in a decade of investigation by the same authors.
First successful organ donation from newborn carried out in UK The very first successful organ donation from a newborn carried out in the UK is reported in the Fetal & Neonatal Edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood.
UK holds first trial over female genital mutilation A London doctor went on trial on Monday for carrying out female genital mutilation in only the first such case to be prosecuted in Britain despite pressure from campaigners.
AbbVie's new hepatitis C treatment gets approval in EU Drugmaker AbbVie Inc. said Monday that its new, all-pill hepatitis C combo treatment has been approved for patients in the 28 European Union member countries.
Could the Pap smear be ousted by HPV testing? A Pleasanton firm that received FDA approval for a test against cervical cancer said it has gained the support of a panel of medical experts to use the test as a frontline screening for women as young as 25, but the announcement only reopened the debate of whether the mainstay of women's health, the Pap smear, will become a thing of the past.
Chinese need to exercise more, smoke less, new report says More than three million Chinese are dying prematurely each year from diseases that could be prevented with regular exercise and programs to cut smoking and alcohol abuse, the World Health Organization said in a report released Monday.
	A bit more salt each day may not harm older adults (HealthDay)—Consuming a "modest" amount of salt might not harm older adults, but any more than that can damage health, a new study finds.
	TV alcohol ads tied to problem drinking for teens, study finds (HealthDay)—A new study finds a link between the number of TV ads for alcohol a teen views, and their odds for problem drinking.
	Overactive bladder a common problem, FDA says (HealthDay)—More than 33 million Americans suffer from overactive bladder, including 40 percent of women and 30 percent of men, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says.
	Mindfulness intervention de-stresses cancer survivors (HealthDay)—A brief mindfulness-based intervention has a positive short-term effect on psychological and behavioral measures as well as proinflammatory signal markers in younger breast cancer survivors, according to a study published online Dec. 23 in Cancer.
	BMI and waist circumference are frequently discordant (HealthDay)—Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) are frequently discordant, generally because of variability in visceral adiposity (VAT) within BMI categories, according to a study published in the Feb. 1 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.
	Rx adherence lower for patients new to diabetes therapy (HealthDay)—Factors associated with adherence to medications for treatment of diabetes include experience with diabetes therapy and related costs, thus efforts to reduce out-of-pocket costs may result in higher adherence, according to research findings published online Jan. 8 in Diabetes Care.
	Supplements curb isotretinoin-associated triglyceride increase (HealthDay)—For patients with preexisting hypertriglyceridemia, ω-3 fatty acid (ω-3FA) supplementation stabilizes the expected increase in triglycerides during isotretinoin therapy, according to research published in the January issue of JAMA Dermatology.
	Age at gluten introduction not linked to risk of celiac disease (HealthDay)—The age of introduction of gluten is not associated with risk of celiac disease (CD) in genetically predisposed children, according to a study published online Jan. 19 in Pediatrics.
	Obesity more expensive to treat than smoking (HealthDay)—Annual health care expenses are substantially higher for smokers and the obese, compared with nonsmokers and people of healthy weight, according to a report published online Dec. 24 in Public Health. In fact, obesity is actually more expensive to treat than smoking on an annual basis, the report author concludes.
	Epidural steroid injections tied to small surgery-sparing effect (HealthDay)—For patients with low back pain, epidural steroid injections (ESIs) could reduce the need for surgery, but the evidence is limited, according to research published in the Feb. 1 issue of The Spine Journal.
Fighting the spread of HIV by posing on the dance floor Baltimore's health department is taking a unique approach to fighting HIV.
Mali government, UN declare country Ebola-free (Update) The Malian government and the United Nations on Sunday declared the country free of Ebola after 42 days without any new cases of the deadly virus.
Guinea schools reopen, but Ebola fears still keep many home Schools shuttered during the height of the Ebola crisis in Guinea began reopening Monday, but many parents were still too afraid to send their children to classes.
Schools reopening as W.Africa turns page on Ebola epidemic Children on Monday trickled back to school in Guinea, where the Ebola epidemic broke out in December 2013, as west Africa cautiously began turning the page on the deadly outbreak.

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